When it comes to a youthful appearance, your eyes are your greatest asset. However, the eye area is often the first place that shows aging. As we age, fine lines, wrinkles and crow’s feet start to become more prominent for a variety of reasons.
What causes lines and wrinkles to appear around the eye area?
The skin around the eyes is delicate, thin and sensitive. Because of that, it’s more likely to lose elasticity with age. The tissue around your eyes contain less fat and muscles than the rest of your face, making the skin of the eye area thinner. Additionally, after aging past 30, the rate of collagen production reduces. These elements help skin appear firmer and tighter. The thinness of skin around the eye makes it more susceptible to skin sagging, fine lines and wrinkles, and leads these first visible signs of aging to be more prominent in this area.
The eye area is also working and moving more than any other part of your face. We’re constantly blinking (15-20 times per minute to be exact), smiling and showing expression through our eyes. All of this constant movement can lead to under eye wrinkles, fine lines and crow’s feet appearing more quickly.
There are other factors that can lead to early signs of aging in the eye area. Diet, lack of sleep, stress, climate and screen use all have an impact on premature aging around the eyes. The most common eye area skincare concerns are fine lines and wrinkles, crow’s feet, dark circles, puffiness and bags under the eye. However, the first sign of aging around the eyes is often fine lines and wrinkles, whereas puffiness and bags under the eye typically appear later in the aging process.
Fortunately, there are several preventative measures to implement to help address the visible signs of eye aging and keep them at bay.
How do you get rid of under eye wrinkles and fine lines?
When targeting skin concerns and implementing a skincare Regimen, it’s important to focus on prevention. For the eye area, it’s important to keep skin moisturized with hydrating ingredients applied in gentle, efficacious ways designed for fragile skin.
Maintaining consistent hydration is key to preventing fine lines and wrinkles from appearing on any part of our skin. The eye area is no different and requires the same consistent hydration to look plump and firm. However, this area is more delicate than the rest of the face so could get irritated if you use a moisturizing serum or cream intended for allover skin hydration. Instead, you want to use a product that is specifically formulated and clinically-demonstrated to be effective for the eye area to get the best results.
Should you apply SPF to your eye area?
It’s important to protect skin from the sun all year round. Applying sunscreen to your face is important to protect skin from UVA/UVB rays that can lead to signs of premature aging like fine lines, wrinkles and skin discoloration. It’s also important to apply SPF to your eye area to protect the thin, fragile skin from the sun’s rays.
Pick a mineral-based formula that’s designed for sensitive skin to apply to the eye area. SOOTHE Mineral Sunscreen SPF 30 contains only mineral-based sunscreen ingredients that help defend against skin-irritating UV rays. The lightweight formula absorbs quickly as it calms, soothes and minimizes visible redness. When applying, try to avoid your eyelids and eyelashes.
It’s also recommended to wear sunglasses that provide UV protection when outside in the sun. This adds more protection to eyes and the full eye area to limit sun exposure that can damage to skin. Proper sun protection through these methods is important to help prevent the visible signs of aging, like fine lines and skin sagging, from appearing.
Why is using the Right Eye Cream so important?
We know keeping skin hydrated helps maintain a youthful appearance. Adding in an eye cream to address the eye area’s unique skin needs is important. This is a key aspect of a preventative skincare approach.
But, why do you need an eye cream if you’re moisturizing the rest of your face? Why can’t you use the same moisturizer on your eye area? How would you know what type of eye cream is best? While facial serums and creams help keep the face hydrated, the eye area has different needs.
Which Ingredients should I look for when selecting an eye cream?
The best eye cream for wrinkles for you will be one that targets the main concern you have for your eye area. Ingredients used in eye product formulas differ depending on the need. In fact, it’s common to use more than one eye cream to target different concerns.
To target fine lines, wrinkles and crow’s feet, it’s best to choose an eye product that contain Peptides and Glycerin. Peptides work to minimize the appearance of fine lines and expression lines and visibly firm skin. Tried and true hydrating ingredient Glycerin provides deep, long-lasting moisturization, attracting water to the top layers of the skin, to help improve the appearance of skin elasticity, wrinkles, dryness and puffiness in the delicate eye area. Glycerin also helps enhance the absorption of other ingredients into the uppermost layers of the skin. Rodan + Fields Redefine Multi-Function Eye Cream is formulated with both Glycerin and Peptides to visibly improve fine lines and signs of eye aging. Designed for the delicate eye area, Multi-Function Eye Cream also helps to improve dryness, skin softness and radiance.
If you are noticing undereye dark circles or if your eye area is feeling dry and dehydrated or looking dull, use an eye cream containing hydrating and brightening ingredients, such as Caffeine, Glycerin or Hyaluronic Acid. ENHANCEMENTS Active Hydration Bright Eye Complex nourishes and refreshes the eye area by brightening, hydrating and improving the appearance of under-eye puffiness. Bright Eye Complex uses proprietary 3D3P Molecular Matrix Technology with Glycerin that is cross-linked with Hyaluronic Acid to draw moisture from the atmosphere and lock it on to skin’s surface to hydrate it. The formula contains Phytonutrients, Caffeine and Brighteners to nourish and refresh the eye area. At night, it can be layered underneath Multi-Function Eye Cream to maximize benefits.
When and how do you apply eye cream in your skincare routine?
Taking a preventative skincare approach is important to help delay visible signs of aging. Fine lines and wrinkles often start to show up in the eye area during our 20s. Adding an eye cream into your skincare routine early on can help keep the area looking smooth and youthful.
Choosing a skincare Regimen isn’t just about using the right products for your skin concern. In fact, consistent and proper application is just as important in order to achieve visible results. And yes, that means not going to sleep with your eye makeup still on, despite how tempting that may be.
When applying an eye cream, use your ring finger to gently smooth over the area. Try to avoid rubbing or pulling on skin. At night, we recommend applying an eye cream as the last step of your routine. This typically is after cleansing, using a toner and any serums or moisturizers. In the morning, apply eye cream before applying your SPF.
